


Snow Covered Day

by irishbandlover23



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Child!Natsume, Gen, Natsume Secret Santa 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28452783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishbandlover23/pseuds/irishbandlover23
Summary: After being turned into a child, Natsume doesn’t know what to think about Taki and Tanuma.Or: child!Natsume except it’s Christmas
Relationships: Natsume Takashi & Taki Tooru, Natsume Takashi & Tanuma Kaname
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	Snow Covered Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for my secret Santa on Tumblr!! Sorry this took so long—I had fun writing it, your prompt was super cute so I had to!

He blinks. 

His eyes roam over the snow-covered trees and field, and he feels home, but what exactly is home? 

He blinks again. 

There’s something  _ wrong _ and he can feel it in his bones, and he could try to remember except he can’t and—

“Natsume!”

There’s a weird cat monster calling his name. 

He screams, startling both the cat and himself.  _ Why do I sound like this, I wonder,  _ he thinks, but the thought vanishes like a wisp of smoke.

The cat talks to him, asks him his name and other questions that deepen the knot beginning to form in his stomach. 

Clearly there’s something wrong—he’s turned into a child who apparently can’t remember years of his life, but he also has a yokai… pet, and real life friends and an actual family? 

Clearly that cannot be true, clearly this is all a dream created by his sub-conscious because there’s no way a person like him could be happy—

“Natsume!”

Two strangers join this bizarre dream, a boy and a girl who look friendly (but looks can be deceiving), who know the cat and also know future him.

He doesn’t have friends, he knows he’s being tricked, he feels like waking up from this dream will be horrible, yet he can’t help but yearn for these things to be true (to have human and yokai friends, to have a place to call home), which is how he finds himself reaching out towards the girl, Taki, hesitantly.

Her hand is as warm as her smile, and he flushes and looks away when she catches him staring.

She giggles. “Natsume,” she softly says, “we’ll be going to Tanuma’s instead. It might be a bit of a walk, but we can carry you if you get tired.”

“...Thank you,” he ends up saying, even though he knows he’ll never admit to being tired, to be carried like some  _ baby.  _

The walk is kind of long, but it’s comforting to have company. The trees are large and imposing, even if barren and covered with snow, and he knows yokai reside within that forest, instinctively moving closer to Taki-san, potentially the least-dangerous person present. 

“It’s strange,” he finds himself saying. “I recognize this path even though I’ve never been here before.”

Tanuma looks down at him, a gaze still warm yet tinged with just a hint of sadness. He points towards the snow-covered field and says, “If you pass through that field you get to the river we hang out with Nishimura and the others.” 

More friends? “I see. Sounds nice,” he wistfully says, and quietly allows himself to be led to a temple.

Although the temple is somewhat large, it is filled with warmth and he feels a sense of comfort despite not remembering this place completely.

They pile into the living room and remove their coats and scarves, each taking a side on the kotatsu, idly chatting about the situation and possible solutions. Nyanko-sensei soon bids them farewell, and Natsume twiddles his fingers on his lap as they fall into silence. 

He bites his lip. He knows they’re good people, but are they really going to sit here in silence the whole day?

After what feels like ages (it’s probably only been five), Taki slams her hand on the table and startles him as she says, “Let’s make cookies!” 

Tanuma scrunches his nose. “Cookies, really?”

She nods enthusiastically. “It’s Christmas and you don’t even have a  _ tree _ set out—the least we can do is make cookies!”

Natsume curiously asks, “You celebrate Christmas?”

“Well, my grandfather always loved to tell us stories and give us a small gift on Christmas,” Taki says with a wistful smile. She turns to Tanuma and asks, “what about you?”

Tanuma shakes his head. “I was always sick as a child, so I never got to enjoy anything properly.” He turns towards Natsume, “and you, Natsume?”

“Well,” he starts, “my relatives usually just sent me to my room.” 

He sees Taki and Tanuma freeze and wants to slap himself. He doesn’t want their pity, he’s  _ fine, _ he’s used to it. “I mean,” he adds, “I preferred being alone anyways.”

Instead of pacifying them, that line seems to spark something within Taki and Tanuma as they exchange a pointed look. They turn towards him and in sync say, “Let’s celebrate Christmas!”

Tanuma adds, “I may have some decorations in the attic, we can pull those out too.” 

“Perfect!” Taki says as she motions for Natsume to follow. “Tanuma you can grab the decorations and Natsume and I will begin the batter.”

They set to work almost immediately—they roll up their sleeves and Tanuma pulls out a stepping stool so that Natsume can properly access the counter. 

It turns out Taki’s very knowledgeable about baking, as she cracks the eggs and mixes them with the flour. She splits the batter in two and gives him a spoon, saying “Mix it up well!” 

After a minute, his hands feel like they’re about to fall off, and he gives up halfway and uses his hands, to her endless amusement, but she doesn’t tease him about it for which he is grateful. 

It turns out Tanuma does not have cookie cutters so they grab a knife (Taki) and toothpicks (for him, as apparently he poses a sharp image with one) and get to work. 

First they make trees and snowmen (“They’re classics!”), then they gain confidence and begin making Santa and reindeers (“also classics”), and finally give up and make small cat-like ones that resemble Nyanko-sensei (“Taki, those don’t even look like Nyanko-sensei” “Tanuma, yours aren’t any better.”) It’s childish and fun, and he feels warm in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time (that he remembers, anyways).

Taki carefully places the cookies in the oven, and they wash their hands and clean up the counter before heading back towards the living room.

Natsume feels more comfortable now—sure, he doesn’t quite know them and some references fly over his head; but he feels less like this is a dream and more that it is something real. 

It turns out Tanuma did not have many decorations, but he did have tons of paper—and so they begin making their own decorations. 

Tanuma teaches him how to make a paper crane, and Taki shows him how to cut out snowflakes. 

His hands are small but nimble, and although they don’t come out perfect, he’s pretty happy with the two cranes and 3 snowflakes he ends up making.

They decide to put these on the door leading to the backyard, when he sees it.

A yokai with slanted mouth and protruding eyes stares at him from afar. 

He pretends not to see anything, smiles at Taki and misses the look she shares with Tanuma, but he can’t help but say something when the yokai starts coming closer. 

“Go away,” he whispers and makes a shooing motion.

“They do not like you,” the yokai says, “They are going to eat you.”

He freezes. “That’s…” he slowly mutters, “that’s not true.”

But how does he  _ know  _ that it’s not true? He can’t remember anything and they really might be faking the friendliness.

And yet there’s a part of him that wants to believe they are good, wants to believe that they are kind and that he is no longer  _ alone— _

“Natsume,” Tanuma asks, “do you  _ see _ something?”

Takis eyes are creased with worry and she pulls him behind her and Tanuma, stares at where the yokai is and says, “Leave.” 

“Taki—” he pleads, “You can’t fight them—”

Tanuma throws him a smile that eases his anxiety and leaves him with a sense of warmth. “We cannot fight them but,” he shrugs. “We will protect you like you’ve protected us.”

I protect them? 

And he can’t remember anything but he knows this is true, and it gives him courage to yell, “They’re good people and I won’t forgive you if you hurt them!” 

There’s a flurry of wind as the yokai snarls and—leaves, just like that. 

Taki whispers, “Natsume…”

He stares at the floor and replies, “I’m sorry, I—“

“Natsume,” Tanuma says as he bends down to his level, “At times like these, you shouldn’t say sorry.”

He blinks. “Wha—”

Taki nods and adds, “You saved us, we should be thanking you.”

“I—“ his cheeks grow warm and his eyes grow misty. He’d never expected any form of thanks, and now this? 

The kitchen alarm rings loudly, signalling the cookies are ready. 

They stare at each other in silence, and then start laughing. 

He feels lighter than a bird, and knows deep in his heart, that this is no dream. This is reality and soon (hopefully), he will turn back into a teen and live a life full of the warmth that he’s always craved.   


Because he was home.


End file.
